Women have been fighting for their right to equality since ages and even today, it remains a pressing issue in most parts of the world. Though discrimination begins at home more often, leading to domestic and social injustices, (unfortunately) the workplace is also not free of these prejudices. Women are actively contributing to almost every working sector - there are many who hold key positions as well - but their voices are not always heard. And the media industry is no exception, according to some key female stakeholders in the business.

A group of prominent media women - including broadcast journalist Najia Ashar, journalist turned actor/host Hina Bayat, playwright Haseena Moin, civil servant Iram Tanveer, who is associated with the Federal Ministry of Information and singer Tina Sani - came together for a panel discussion that shed light on female voices in the industry. Titled ‘Female Voices in Arts and Media,’ the session was a part of the Creative Arts and Media (CAM) Summit and Exhibition recently put forth by Sindh Madressatul Islam University (SMIU) in collaboration with Dice, as the two entities aimed to bring academia and industry together through the platform.

"Being women we have to work twice or thrice as much as men to prove ourselves. Women do have a visual presence in media but do they have a voice?" questioned Hina Bayat, explaining that having a voice doesn’t mean being able to say something but whether your words have an impact or are even taken seriously?"

"Am I part of the decision making process?" she continued. "There is presence, exploitation and even objectification of women in news media and entertainment but there is no voice. Stereotypes surrounding women are reiterated and imposed on us but decisions come from somewhere else - advertising agencies, channel owners, publication houses, etc."

Najia Ashar, who is associated with the field of journalism for almost two decades now, asserted that the struggle of women hasn’t really changed much with time. When she started off around 18 years ago, she was able to bag a position despite there being lack of opportunities for women.

"There have been three phases in terms of how media industry evolved over the years and what place it had for women," Najia pointed out. "When private media came into being, there were ample opportunities for women and young women were encouraged to pursue a career in journalism. However, when the industry was booming, women began to disappear from newsrooms owing to family constraints, domestic responsibilities and workplace pressures."

"Now when we are facing media crises, women are mostly found onscreen but they don’t really have a say in decisions that are made off screen. There is hardly any news outlet with women in decision making roles despite their extensive experiences in the field," she informed.

While Hina Bayat and Najia Ashar shared their stances on the subject based on their experiences in journalism, artists on the panel had their stories too. Playwright Haseena Moin, who is known for writing some of the most progressive scripts for TV during the 90s, also gave her two cents on the matter.

"I was very young when I stepped into the entertainment industry but I never took any pressure from higher-ups neither they tried to impose anything on me," she recollected. "I was associated with PTV and worked with some of the renowned names in the industry but fortunately none of them pushed me for anything. I got the respect and freedom I desired and always opposed whenever I found something to be unfair."

"Most private channels consider writers as their property who they can dominate; I haven’t worked with any yet," she added.

Tina Sani, on the other hand, who also brings years of experience with her, admitted that when a working woman starts her family, she does find it very challenging to balance the two roles. This was an issue even in the 80s when she initially joined television.

"We saw this phenomenon for years; women have remained guilty in this matter and the struggle continues even today," Sani highlighted, adding that one has to give about seven to eights years until things settle since it’s tough to decide between a mother and an artist. Somehow we are diffusing these lines."

"Women have different gender roles to fill compared to men and there is no need to fight over it," asserted Sani, before adding, "We should celebrate our roles and not get shocked about starting a family."

Sani also recalled how safe she felt while she worked with PTV since the channel made sure their female workers were well taken care of. Hina Bayat also mentioned that having worked at Geo for years, she is proud to say that the channel was the first to make and implement policies against harassment at the workplace and that we should take these things into consideration for future reference.

Iram Tanveer, who heads the Karachi office of Federal Ministry of Information, also added to the discussion and gave insights as to how the government can intervene and contribute to the cause.

"We work harder than men and are much more focused. Today, women have more opportunities than ever before and we deserve to be assigned roles that are integral to decision-making policies. Even in government organizations, we have to prove ourselves and our worth," she explained.

Sharing that the government is in talks with Film Producers Association to bring about positive developments in the local cinema, she expressed her disappointment over the way most of our films portray women.

"Most films revolve around a runaway bride; what opinion they are trying to form?" she questioned, adding that she doesn’t agree that the audience doesn’t want to see anything other than this. Films have wider audiences and they are also showcased internationally. Is this what we want to portray? We are currently writing a paper on it and will soon be taking some serious measures to counter this kind of narrative."

Similarly, Haseena Moin and Hina Bayat too opposed how television portrays women, in roles that are mostly black and white; female characters are either evil or pious. There is no grey area. "It is embarrassing to see these dramas belittling women; women of today are very strong, why would they put up with such kind of treatment?" Moin pointed out while Bayat noted, "Women are either aggressive or submissive but they can’t be assertive?"

Despite coming from different work spaces and having diverse career spans, all of these women believe that the best way to fight discrimination and strengthen women’s position in the workplace is to work in unity. Women need to band together to bring about the changes they want to see for themselves. Some of the ways could be raising a voice against injustices even when it is happening to their fellows, banding together, against or in favour of a certain policy, etc.

Besides, Tina Sani pointed out that organizations also need to take into consideration dual roles that women have to juggle while the government too needs to take necessary steps to facilitate women in such situations. Last but not the least, female media women can work collectively and create a space where their concerns can be brought up and dealt with.